Tea Producing Regions of India
What is tea?
Tea is a beverage prepared by pouring boiling water over dried (cured) leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are left to steep (brew) in the water and are removed before drinking the beverage.
Camellia Sinensis Plant
Camellia sinensis is a species of plant of the genus Camellia—a flowering plant—whose leaves, when cured, are used to make tea.
Different levels of oxidation in the curing process enable several varieties of tea—white tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea, and black tea—to all be produced from the harvested plant.
There are two varieties of Camelia sinensis from which tea is produced—Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (Chinese tea) and Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Assam tea).
Worldwide Tea Production
The top ten tea producing countries in the world, with the number of tons of tea produced in 2008, follows. In this article, I'll be discussing the top four tea producing regions in India.
Country
| Number of Tons of Tea Produced
|
|---|---|
China
| 1,275,384
|
India
| 805,180
|
Kenya
| 345,800
|
Sri Lanka
| 318,470
|
Turkey
| 198,046
|
Vietnam
| 174,900
|
Indonesia
| 150,851
|
Japan
| 94,100
|
Argentina
| 76,000
|
Iran
| 60,000
|
Main Tea Producing Regions in India
The four main tea producing regions in India are Assam, West Benghal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
SOURCE (REGION / DISTRICT)
| TEA
|
|---|---|
Assam
| Assam
|
West Benghal
| Darjeeling
|
Kerala
| Munnar
|
Tamil Nadu
| Nilgiri
|
Assam (Assam Tea)
As you will have seen in the video, much of the tea in India is grown on tea plantations in mountainous areas of the country. Assam tea, which uses the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis var. assamica, is an exception to this. Assam tea is grown in the lowlands, at or near sea level.
The state of Assam, which is the world’s largest tea growing region, borders the countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar (formerly Burma). The Brahmaputra River runs through the area, which is only one of two regions in the world in which native tea plants can be found. In other regions of India, the tea that is grown is Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. The variety known as Camellia sinensis var. assamica is unique to Assam.
The part of India in which Assam is located experiences high temperatures and a large amount of precipitation. During the day, the temperature in Assam averages 103°F (30.4°C). In the monsoon (rainy) season—May to October, there can be as much as 10 to 12 inches (250 to 300mm) of rain per day. The heat and the rain create a very humid climate, which the tea plants seem to prefer.
Assam teas are often used in blends with other varieties of tea. Two of the blends, which are among my favorite types of tea, are English Breakfast tea and Irish breakfast tea.
West Benghal (Darjeeling Tea)
Darjeeling tea is from the Darjeeling district of West Benghal. Unlike Assam tea, Darjeeling is not native to India.
Dr. Arthur Campbell (1805-1874), a surgeon in the Indian Medical Service, was the first person to plant tea in Darjeeling. Dr. Campbell became superintendent of a sanitarium in Darjeeling in 1839, when he was transferred from his post in Kathmandu, Nepal to India.
Dr. Campbell brought tea seeds from the Kumaun region of China with him to his post in Darjeeling, and he began experimenting with growing tea at his residence. Several other people began experiments with growing and cultivating tea in Darjeeling, and tea growing as an industry soon developed.
Darjeeling tea is usually made as black tea. Darjeeling white and oolong teas are also available. Occasionally, Darjeeling green tea can be found.
Kerala (Munnar Tea)
Kerala is located along a narrow coastline on the southwestern shore of mainland India. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea on the west, Karnataka on the north and northeast, and Tamil Nadu on the east and south. The width of Kerala ranges from 22 to 75 miles (11 to 121 kilometers).
Munnar is a town in Kerala which was developed by the British as a vacation destination, a place to visit in order to get away from the heat of the valleys and plains located at lower elevations. It is a hill station located in the Western Ghats mountain range in the Idukki district of the state. Hill stations are town located at higher elevations, usually between 3500 to 7500 feet above sea level—elevations at which the air temperature is much cooler than in the valleys below.
Several tea plantations (tea estates) are located in and around Munnar. The area is popular as a tourist destination. Tourists may stay at one of the many hotels in Munnar or, if they're lucky, find accommodations in a guest house on one of the tea plantations.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (Nilgiri Tea)
Tamil Nadu is located in the southeasternmost part of mainland India. It is bordered by the states of Kerala in the west, Karnataka in the northwest, and Andhra Pradesh in the north. The Bay of Bengal borders Tamil Nadu in the east, and the Indian Ocean borders the state in the south. Mountain ranges which border Tamil Nadu are the Eastern Ghats in the north and the Nilgiri Hills, Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad in the west.
Nilgiri tea is grown in the hills of the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. Tea plantations or estates in the Nilgiris district generally own and operate their own tea processing facilities. More than 50% of the tea grown and processed in Tamil Nadu is exported. It is primarily used in the creation of blended tea for tea bags.
Tamil Nadu
Video Sung in Tamil, the Offical Language of Tamil Nadu, India
The only official language of Tamil Nadu is Tamil. English, the official language of India, is widely spoken.
I asked fellow HubPages writer, Dr. Mohan Kumar (Docmo), who was born in Chennai (formerly Madras), Tamil Nadu (formerly the state of Madras), to recommend a Tamil music video to be included in my article. Dr. Kumar selected this video of Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World from India, singing the Tamil song Kilimanjaro.
Temple Jewelry from South India
A cultural and historical aspect of South India is the beautiful temple jewelry. Ishwaryaa Dinesh from Tamil Nadu has written a wonderful article about these works of art. Included in the article are photographs of Ms. Dinesh's family members wearing pieces of temple jewelry.
Which do you prefer drinking—tea or coffee?
Comments
- AUTHOR
lex123,
It's nice to "meet" you. Thanks for reading my article and posting your comment. I visited India several years ago, accompanying my boyfriend on a business trip. Our stay was confined to Mumbai, and we didn't get to see any tea growing areas.
Thank you for writing a hub about Tea producing regions of India. I have been to the South Indian regions (Munnar and Nilgiris) and always loved to take a walk along the tea garden. Recently I had a visit to Coorg in Karnataka where I had also visited a tea estate, though Coorg is more famous for Coffee.
- AUTHOR
Audrey (vocalcoach),
Thanks for returning to read my article a third time. I appreciate your continued support of my writing, and your sharing my Hub again.
I enjoy writing what I like to call "gently educational" Hubs. I'll add your suggestion to my "to be written" list.
I hope you don't mind a third visit from me - every time I read this hub I learn something new.
I would have thought that China would be higher on the list of producers of tea. I need to pay more attention about where my tea comes from. Statistics always interest me. Have you any information on the benefits of white tea versus black or herbal teas? Another hub perhaps?
Thank you Daisy for writing the kind of hubs that entice me to come back again and again. Doing more sharing. Audrey
- AUTHOR
Ease Feeds,
It's nice to meet you. Thank you for reading my article and posting your comment.
Wow, this is one of the best hubs I have ever seen. The photos were selected really well, and the statistics make it very interesting.
- AUTHOR
Paula,
Thanks for reading my article and posting your comment. I drink coffee every morning and tea later in the day.
I am a drink tea when you are sick kind of person and more of a coffee hound but really found this article interesting. It's been a while since I studied different countries and what their main products are.
- AUTHOR
Audrey (vocalcoach),
Thanks for returning to read my article another time. I appreciate your continued support of my writing.
Stopped by to take another wonderful 'tour' of your hub. I must admit, I've enjoyed reading this so much for the second time. It's been awhile since peppermint herbal tea has touched my palate and right now it sounds so good. I must pick some up. Take care dear Daisy ~
- AUTHOR
smcopywrite,
It's nice to meet you. Thanks for reading my article and posting your comment. I'm glad you found my Hub to be informative.
- AUTHOR
Audrey (vocalcoach),
Thanks for reading my article and adding your comment. I, too, drink coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. I like both Indian tea and tea from China. I also drink some herbal teas. One of my favorite herbal teas is peppermint.
- AUTHOR
Nithya (Vellur),
Thank you for reading my article and commenting in it. I enjoy drinking both tea and coffee. I like Darjeeling very much. I can't recall having had Nilgiri, but it's possible I did when I was in India.
I love tea. having a great mango blend right now. thanks for getting the word out about what india has contributed to one of my favorite drinks. great hub
Thank you Daisy for teaching me so much about tea. I found this to be exceptional. My favorite tea is ginger which is made from fresh ginger. I've not tried the teas mentioned here in your hub.
I'm a "coffee in the morning and tea at night" person. Speaking of which...excuse me while I go and boil some purified water. :)
Great hub, informative and useful. I love tea, Darjeeling tea is my favorite, the next is Nilgiri Tea. Great write, voted up.
- AUTHOR
Rasma (Gypsy Rose Lee),
Thanks for reading my article and commenting in it. Thanks, too, for sharing my Hub.
I would have loved to have visited some of the tea estates when I was in India.
- AUTHOR
Citrangada,
Thanks for reading my article and posting your comment. I spent three weeks in Mumbai several years ago, and my drink of choice was tea. The hotel in which we stayed had a wonderful Darjeeling.
Fascinating hub. I could just picture myself wandering about these regions with tea cup in hand. Passing this on.
Hi Daisy!
Wonderful hub about Tea producing regions of India! Very informative with pictures, tables and maps.
Tea in fact is the most popular beverage of India. We start our day with a rich, aromatic cup of tea. And I have visited almost all the Tea gardens you have mentioned above. These gardens are heavenly and beautiful and give you a romantic feel.
The tea lovers are ready to spend any amount of money to buy their own favourite brand of Tea. And there are so many to choose from packaged in attractive boxes and pouches.
My favourite is Lipton green label, long leaf Darjeeling tea, which is rich and aromatic.
I just got carried away with your excellent hub and I feel like having a nice cup of Tea, NOW!
Thanks and Voted up!
- AUTHOR
ignugent17,
It's nice to "see" you again. Thanks for reading my article and posting your comment. The next time you're offered a cup of tea by your friends, don't hesitate to accept.
- AUTHOR
Julie (Jools99),
Thanks for reading my article and adding your comment. I'm so sorry to hear you're allergic to tea. I'm not allergic to it, but I must drink hot tea with milk and sugar. If I don't drink it that way, I don't feel very good after drinking it. Earl Grey drink is great! I also like English Breakfast tea and Irish Breakfast tea. In the morning, however, I must have a large cup of coffee.
Thank you for the information. It is good to know something about different cultures and country.
I have friends from India and they always offer tea and now I know.
Have a great day. :-)
Ah, nothing nicer in England on a hot day than a cup of Rosie and a nice cream scone...but...I am a coffee drinker normally. I am allergic to tea so I only drink it every once in a while but when I do have a cuppa, I always enjoy it. This article has a wealth of info about tea - my personal favourite is Earl Grey but I always drink it black with one sugar, no milk. It is amazing to think how many different flavours of tea are out there and of the work that goes in to creating the humble pot of tea.
- AUTHOR
rdsparrowriter,
Thanks for reading my article and adding your comment. I appreciate your very kind words about my Hubs.
This is a fantastic very informative hub :) It's so cool, I always learn so many new things from your hubs :) God bless you!
- AUTHOR
Mary (tillsontitan),
Thanks for reading my article and posting your comment. I appreciate your very kind words.
Whenever I tweet this Hub, it gets retweeted by people living in India who are not assocated with HubPages. I'm glad that people outside HP find my article interesting, too.
- AUTHOR
Lurana (MrsBrownsParlour),
It's nice to meet you. Thanks for reading my article and adding your comment.
The video with the Tamil song that my friend Mohan Kumar sent me showcases Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World from India, and an Indian actor. I don't know where it was filmed.
This hub just has to be a big hit! Who doesn't love tea? You've included everything we always wanted to know about tea and done it so beautifully. The maps and great video are certainly a great addition!
Voted up, useful, awesome, and interesting.
Hello,
This was so interesting! I love tea and learned a lot from your well-researched and really well-written article. The music video redirected me to YouTube, and I really enjoyed the music and performers---and am almost sure it was filmed in Macchu Picchu (where I travelled several years ago)!
- AUTHOR
Sushmita (sen.sush23),
It's nice to "see" you again. Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and adding your insightful comment. Thanks, too, for sharing my Hub. I appreciate your support of my writing.
Daisy, I had been forced to retire away from the HubPages just too long...so I came back and took a sip from the cup you had on offer for some time now..:)
Tea is by far, most Indians', particularly the North and East Indian's, favorite beverage. The black variety is usually referred as 'liquor tea' while the one with milk is made in different processes from the simplest English tea with little sugar and light milk to the elaborate recipes of Masala tea with lot of spices like cardamom and ginger. I have not ever tasted the Nilgiri or Munnar varieties- the mainstream Assam and Darjeeling have been the ones we take regularly. Loved your interest in this particular industry of my country and the way you organized the hub in neat chunks. Voted up and sharing.
- AUTHOR
Terrye (TToombs08),
Thanks for reading my Hub and adding your comment. You can always start a new business venture...Terrye Toombs Teas.
Fascinating information, Daisy. I haven't had a good cup of tea since my favorite English Tea House closed down in Anchorage. Loved to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon having high tea with my lady friends. Now I'm going to have to find a tea house in Montana. (Ha!) :)
- AUTHOR
Aurelio (alocsin),
Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and commenting.
If you're referring to the video I created with the photographs from India, I intentionally didn't attach an MP3 to the video.
The reason I didn't add music to my video was because I didn't want to take anything away from the video my friend Mohan Kumar sent me...a video of Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World from India, singing the Tamil song Kilimanjaro.
I chose to include the song sung in Mohan's native language of Tamil rather than add music to my video.
- AUTHOR
Dianna (teaches12345),
Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and adding your comment. I appreciate your support of my writing.
I drink coffee in the morning, but frequently drink tea in the evening. I can't really decide which I prefer.
A great overview of one of my favorite drinks. Although I wasn't hearing any sound through the video -- was that intentional or is my computer on the blink? Voting this Up and Useful.
Daisy, I caught this earlier but wanted to leave a comment in support on the topic. Great article on tea in India. Tea is a favorite evening drink of mine to wind down for the day, especially decaf chai. Voted up.
- AUTHOR
Mike,
It's nice to "see" you again. Thanks for viewing my video and reading my article. Thanks, too, for commenting.
This article took me longer to research since I've only been to India once, and I didn't travel to any of the tea producing regions. I learned quite a bit while writing this Hub.
- AUTHOR
Shruti,
Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and adding your comment. I appreciate your support.
I am a big tea lover but truly, I did not know that India produces so much tea & such qualitative.. Quite informative & detailed hub, voted up!
I am soo happy to see this over here! yes, tea is one of the specialities of india. A beautiful hub and brilliant highlight !
thank you, voted up :)
- AUTHOR
Janine,
Thank you for viewing my video, reading my article, and adding your comment. Thanks, too, for sharing and tweeting my Hub.
Most of my articles have an educational aspect to them. I learned quite a bit about tea production myself while doing my research.
Daisy, so very I the resting and informative. I truly did not know much about tea and the areas of India that produce them until reading your article. I do love to drink a nice glass of tea (always have preferred tea over coffee, even though I am in the minority on this). Thank you for giving me some food for thought here. Have voted, shared and tweeted as always :)
- AUTHOR
Sasha (Mama Kim 8),
Thanks for viewing my video and reading my article. Thanks, too, for commenting in my Hub and sharing it.
The Camellia Sinensis is at the very top of my most wanted list for my garden! ^_^ I knew Japan and China produced a lot of tea but didn't realize India produced so much as well. Fantastic hub with great information. voting up and pinning
- AUTHOR
Mohan (Docmo),
Thanks for viewing my video and reading my article. Thanks, too, for adding your comments.
I appreciate your continued support of my work and your taking time from your busy schedule to send the video to me.
Including that colorful music video in your native language of Tamil has added a bit of excitement to my article. Thanks, again, for your help.
What a fantastic hub on Indian teas , Daisy. you've certainly spun an information rich, visually appealing, highly readable hub. This is an instant classic. I am a big tea lover and this brings back many flavours and memories to mind. I love that song too.. thanks for including it here.
- AUTHOR
Rich (rcrumple),
Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and adding your comments. I appreciate your support of my work.
There are differences in the taste, aroma, and color of the tea that is produced in the areas I discussed. I thought about including that information in my article, but I felt my Hub would be too long and complex if I did. Perhaps it is the subject for another article.
I'm glad you liked the video that Mohan Kumar suggested I include. For me, it brought back memories of the hours I spent watching television while in India several years ago.
- AUTHOR
rjsadowski,
It's nice to "see" you again. Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and commenting.
I'm glad you liked my inclusion of the maps. I try to add maps to my Hubs whenever I can. I think they help my readers gain a better picture of the material being presented.
- AUTHOR
Vinaya,
Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and commenting.
In which state in India was the tea plantation you visited?
Thanks, too, for sharing my Hub on Google+. As always, I appreciate your contiued support of my work.
Very informative hub on the tea producing areas. Now, my curiosity is up as to the differences in the tea produced in each area. Is there a difference in acidty and such, or how tea is rated. Also, enjoyed the video. Very different, beautiful costumes, and nonstop dancing. Great Job!
An Awesome, informative Hub. I particularly appreciate your maps because I like to visualize what I am reading about.
I have tasted all kinds of Indian tea. I have also been to tea plantation in India. As a tea lover, I enjoyed video and pictures in this hub. This hub is useful and informative.
- AUTHOR
Dave (davenmidtown),
Thanks for viewing my video, reading my article, and adding your comment.
Thanks, too, for your very kind words about my Hub and my writing. This is my fourth post-Apprenticeship article. I'm so glad I was invited to particpate in the beta test group. The program was well worth the time, effort, and energy I put into participating.
Daisy: What an outstanding, well written and entertaining piece of writing. I think you have produced a work of contengency that is on par with National Geographic and such. The information contained here is well presented and easy to read. Awesome!
- AUTHOR
Ish (ishwaryaa22),
Thank you for being the first person to view my video, read my article, and add a comment. Thanks also for your very kind words, for sharing my article, and allowing me to link to your beautiful temple jewelry Hub.
A number of my HubPages and Facebook friends are from India, Tamil Nadu in particular. My writing a Hub related to India was long overdue.
An extremely informative and detailed hub on Indian tea producing regions. My late grandfather was very fond of tea and always used the famous tea brand - 'Taj Mahal Tea'. My dad also often drank Indian green tea. Your hub is very well-written and well-presented, especially with video and maps which added to the overall beauty and interest of this hub-layout. Thank you for the kind honor of linking my hub to this engaging hub of yours. Well-done!
Thanks for SHARING. Useful, Awesome & Interesting. Voted up & Socially Shared
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